State profile · IA · Clery Act

Iowa Campus Safety

According to the U.S. Department of Education's Clery Act filings, this covers on-campus safety for all 75 tracked colleges and universities in Iowa, ranked by reported incident rate per 1,000 enrolled students.

75
Institutions tracked
14.64
Avg incidents / 1k
#59
State safety rank
206,064
Students enrolled

Data updated June 2026

The state in one line

Across Iowa's 75 campuses, Des Moines Area Community College reports the lowest rate (0.00 per 1,000), the median campus reports 0.16, and 36 campuses reported zero on-campus incidents.

75
campuses tracked
14.64
statewide avg, per 1,000
0.00
safest - Des Moines Area
36
campuses reporting zero

Per-1,000-student rates let small and large campuses be compared fairly, but a handful of reports at a small school can still produce a high rate. Read alongside enrollment.

Iowa reports Clery Act campus safety data across 75 higher education institutions distributed across 42 cities , serving approximately 206,064 enrolled students combined. The statewide average safety score stands at 14.64 on-campus incidents per 1,000 enrolled students, placing Iowa at national rank #59 among US states for campus safety outcomes. The median institution in Iowa reports 0.16 incidents per 1,000 students, while 36 campuses reported zero on-campus incidents during the survey window.

The largest institution by enrollment is Iowa State University with 30,177 students and a safety score of 3.38. Raw incident counts across institutions in this state must be interpreted alongside enrollment size, a large urban research university and a small rural liberal arts college produce very different absolute numbers for identical underlying risk.

Every institution listed below participates in federal financial aid programs and is therefore legally required under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act to publish annual on-campus crime statistics. The data is collected by the US Department of Education via the OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey. Rankings shown on this page reflect incident rates per 1,000 enrolled students, so smaller schools with a handful of reports can score worse than large universities with dozens of reports. Use the table below to compare campuses with similar enrollment profiles before drawing conclusions about relative safety.

Iowa campuses, ranked by safety

# Campus EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 Des Moines Area Community College Ankeny · 24,418 students 24,418 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #1
2 Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary Ankeny · 586 students 586 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #2
3 Hawkeye Community College Waterloo · 4,796 students 4,796 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #3
4 Mercy College of Health Sciences Des Moines · 907 students 907 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #4
5 Mount Mercy University Cedar Rapids · 1,451 students 1,451 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #5
6 Northwestern College Orange City · 1,665 students 1,665 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #6
7 Northeast Iowa Community College Calmar · 4,378 students 4,378 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #7
8 Northwest Iowa Community College Sheldon · 1,792 students 1,792 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #8
9 Southeastern Community College West Burlington · 2,562 students 2,562 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #9
10 Southwestern Community College Creston · 1,633 students 1,633 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #10
11 Wartburg College Waverly · 1,472 students 1,472 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #11
12 Eastern Iowa Community College District Davenport · 7,128 students 7,128 0.14 4% of the leader · rank #12
13 Kirkwood Community College Cedar Rapids · 12,660 students 12,660 0.16 4% of the leader · rank #13
14 Iowa Lakes Community College Estherville · 2,024 students 2,024 0.49 4% of the leader · rank #14
15 Dordt University Sioux Center · 1,929 students 1,929 0.52 4% of the leader · rank #15
16 Marshalltown Community College Marshalltown · 1,870 students 1,870 0.53 4% of the leader · rank #16
17 Western Iowa Tech Community College Sioux City · 5,071 students 5,071 0.59 4% of the leader · rank #17
18 Upper Iowa University Fayette · 3,102 students 3,102 0.64 4% of the leader · rank #18
19 Des Moines University-Osteopathic Medical Center West Des Moines · 1,521 students 1,521 0.66 4% of the leader · rank #19
20 North Iowa Area Community College Mason City · 2,471 students 2,471 0.81 4% of the leader · rank #20
21 Palmer College of Chiropractic Davenport · 2,219 students 2,219 0.90 4% of the leader · rank #21
22 Iowa Central Community College Fort Dodge · 4,909 students 4,909 1.02 4% of the leader · rank #22
23 Indian Hills Community College Ottumwa · 3,236 students 3,236 1.55 4% of the leader · rank #23
24 Clarke University Dubuque · 1,025 students 1,025 1.95 4% of the leader · rank #24
25 Drake University Des Moines · 4,504 students 4,504 2.44 4% of the leader · rank #25
26 William Penn University Oskaloosa · 1,536 students 1,536 2.60 4% of the leader · rank #26
27 Morningside University Sioux City · 2,158 students 2,158 2.78 4% of the leader · rank #27
28 Ellsworth Community College Iowa Falls · 685 students 685 2.92 4% of the leader · rank #28
29 Maharishi International University Fairfield · 2,666 students 2,666 3.00 4% of the leader · rank #29
30 Buena Vista University Storm Lake · 1,951 students 1,951 3.08 4% of the leader · rank #30
31 Loras College Dubuque · 1,213 students 1,213 3.30 4% of the leader · rank #31
32 Iowa State University Ames · 30,177 students 30,177 3.38 4% of the leader · rank #32
33 Grinnell College Grinnell · 1,775 students 1,775 3.94 4% of the leader · rank #33
34 Briar Cliff University Sioux City · 940 students 940 4.26 4% of the leader · rank #34
35 University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls · 9,013 students 9,013 5.66 4% of the leader · rank #35
36 University of Dubuque Dubuque · 1,795 students 1,795 7.24 4% of the leader · rank #36
37 Cornell College Mount Vernon · 1,084 students 1,084 7.38 4% of the leader · rank #37
38 Iowa Western Community College Council Bluffs · 5,503 students 5,503 7.63 4% of the leader · rank #38
39 Grand View University Des Moines · 1,796 students 1,796 8.35 4% of the leader · rank #39
40 Luther College Decorah · 1,463 students 1,463 8.89 4% of the leader · rank #40
41 Central College Pella · 1,095 students 1,095 9.13 4% of the leader · rank #41
42 Simpson College Indianola · 1,163 students 1,163 9.46 4% of the leader · rank #42
43 University of Iowa Iowa City · 30,042 students 30,042 10.02 4% of the leader · rank #43
44 Graceland University-Lamoni Lamoni · 1,195 students 1,195 10.04 4% of the leader · rank #44
45 Waldorf University Forest City · 2,657 students 2,657 11.67 4% of the leader · rank #45
46 Saint Ambrose University Davenport · 2,703 students 2,703 12.58 4% of the leader · rank #46
47 Coe College Cedar Rapids · 1,278 students 1,278 14.08 4% of the leader · rank #47
48 Allen College Waterloo · 489 students 489 4.09 4% of the leader · rank #48
49 American Hair Academy Mount Pleasant · 27 students 27 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #49
50 Aveda Institute-Des Moines West Des Moines · 179 students 179 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #50
51 Body Wisdom Massage Therapy School Urbandale · 36 students 36 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #51
52 Capri College-Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids · 128 students 128 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #52
53 Capri College-Davenport Davenport · 142 students 142 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #53
54 Capri College-Dubuque Dubuque · 153 students 153 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #54
55 Carlson College of Massage Therapy Anamosa · 19 students 19 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #55
56 Divine Word College Epworth · 61 students 61 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #56
57 Emmaus Bible College Dubuque · 197 students 197 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #57
58 Faust Institute of Cosmetology-Spirit Lake Spirit Lake · 16 students 16 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #58
59 Iowa School of Beauty-Des Moines Des Moines · 74 students 74 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #59
60 Iowa School of Beauty-Sioux City Sioux City · 40 students 40 25.00 4% of the leader · rank #60
61 La James College of Hairstyling and Cosmetology Mason City · 56 students 56 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #61
62 La James International College-Cedar Falls Cedar Falls · 40 students 40 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #62
63 La James International College-Davenport Davenport · 123 students 123 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #63
64 La James International College-Ft Dodge Fort Dodge · 20 students 20 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #64
65 La James International College-Johnston Johnston · 113 students 113 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #65
66 Mercy-St Luke's School of Radiologic Technology Cedar Rapids · 21 students 21 904.76 100% of the leader · rank #66
67 Orion Technical College Davenport · 73 students 73 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #67
68 PCI Academy-Ames Ames · 170 students 170 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #68
69 PCI Academy-Iowa City Iowa City · 103 students 103 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #69
70 Ross College-Davenport Davenport · 40 students 40 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #70
71 SOHO Hair Academy Council Bluffs · 50 students 50 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #71
72 St Luke's College Sioux City · 196 students 196 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #72
73 The Salon Professional Academy-Cedar Falls Cedar Falls · 101 students 101 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #73
74 UnityPoint Health-Des Moines School of Radiologic Technology Des Moines · 16 students 16 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #74
75 Wartburg Theological Seminary Dubuque · 164 students 164 0.00 4% of the leader · rank #75

Related

All states → | National rankings → | Methodology →

What this means for you

Use Iowa's list as a starting point for comparison, not a final judgment on any one campus.

  • Weigh an Iowa campus against similarly-sized institutions, scale changes what a raw count means. Compare campuses
  • See Des Moines Area Community College's full profile and how its rate breaks down by incident category. View Des Moines Area
  • National rankings put this state in context against every other state. National rankings

Figures reflect the June 2026 Clery Act reporting release as filed with the U.S. Department of Education.

Data sourced from the U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety & Security Survey (Clery Act). See our methodology. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCampus Editorial.

Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal Clery Act source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.